Review of Casablanca

I went into the viewing of this movie with only the notion that Casablanca is regarded as one of, if not, the best movies of all time. I was aware that it was an old movie and in black and white, being in my mid 20's I really don't like black and white movies. I find them a bit boring and very slow moving. As I was watching Casablanca the time just seemed to fly right bye, as if I was watching one of my favorite movies. I got the plot and theme of the movie pretty much right away. The plot of the movie, in brief, is about an American (Rick) who ones a bar/club in Casablanca in unoccupied Morocco, a territory of France during World War II. A corrupt French Captain is going to arrest a man (Victor) wanted by the Nazis. The man wanted by the Nazis is a leader of the underground in Europe, and an escapee from a concentration camp. Victor's wife (Ilsa) is in love with Rick, and at a conflict with staying with her husband and staying with Rick. The theme of the movie, according to the categories of the text "The Art of Watching Films", is love and humanity. This theme is demonstrated in many parts of this film. Rick is in love with Ilsa, and he shows this by having her stay with her husband and leaving on the plane is Lisbon at the end of the movie. The movie portrays Rick as a neutral business man with a kind heart. He shows this in the movie when he helps the couple from Belgium. He helps them by telling the man to bet on number twenty-two and signaling the roulette dealer, or what ever they are called, to fix the game so the couple wins and has wnough money to pay of the corrupt French captain. The theme of love and humanity is not restricted to Rick, Louie, the corrupt French captain, shows this at the end of the film by not arresting Rick after he helped Ilsa and Victor escape Casablanca, and for shooting a major in the Nazi army. The film is also about love on a forgiving way. Rick forgives Ilsa for leaving him to stay with Victor. Victor forgives Ilsa for having an affair with Rick while he was being help captive by the Nazis. After watching this movie and reading the article "Play it Again and Again" I can see why is has made such a huge impact on Hollywood and mainstream America. I was unaware how many movie phrases come from this movie, "Play it again Sam, Play it again, Here's looking at you kid, the song A Kiss is Just a Kiss." I can see how the theme is considered to be universal, because it did out last the time that the movie was made. I found it really interesting that the Casablanca was originally written as a play, according to an article written by Ray Merlocks. The play was purchased by Warner Brothers, with a few things being re-written. Casablanca was released as a play after the movie. I really enjoyed watching this movie. I now see why so many people make references to this movie, when talking about other movies.


The Art of Watching Films. Briggs, Dennis. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. 2008

Playing it Again and Again. By: Jackson, Kathy Merlock; Nachbar, Jack. Journal of Popular Film & Television, Winter2000, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p33, 13p, 3bw; (AN 2754051)

Casablanca. By: Merlock, Ray. Journal of Popular Film & Television, Winter2000, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p2, 3p, 1bw; (AN 2754047)